Do Custom Thumbnails Still Matter for Shorts in 2025?

[Toluwani7]

I used to obsess over custom thumbnails, but now Shorts seem to auto-play so fast that nobody really sees them.
I’m curious are you still uploading custom thumbnails, or relying on auto-generated ones?
Have you noticed any real difference in CTR?

 

[SproutGigsTeam]

Thumbnails are important, especially if your niche can rank in search results, so don’t overlook them.

 

[Toluwani7]

Thumbnails are important, especially if your niche can rank in search results, so don’t overlook them.

Okay thanks

 

[andreaissabel]

It's interesting to choose a good frame as cover

I was also obsessed creating custom thumbnails for shorts but now, with a good choice of the cover frame is enough for me

 

[sevensister]

Minor impact most viewers skip quickly, so thumbnails matter less for Shorts; titles and first 2–3 seconds are far more important.

 

[alonelywriter]

Yes, When your short video is displayed in the Shorts feed of yt home page. It matters.

 

[AccHexa]

Mostly no. Shorts autopay so fast that custom thumbnails have minimal impact on CTR. Focus more on strong hooks in the first few seconds than the thumbnail.

 

[rankhighbacklinks]

Still matters, not as much as long-form, but a clean custom thumbnail can boost clicks from search & suggested.

 

[Play ON]

For the main Shorts feed, the custom thumbnail made no measurable difference in view duration or swipe-through rate. The first 1-2 seconds are the new thumbnail. I now only use a custom one if it's part of a topic-specific playlist on my channel

 

[RotatingProxy]

I used to obsess over custom thumbnails, but now Shorts seem to auto-play so fast that nobody really sees them.
I’m curious are you still uploading custom thumbnails, or relying on auto-generated ones?
Have you noticed any real difference in CTR?

Custom thumbnails have limited influence on Shorts performance due to autoplay behavior, though they still provide value for visibility within channel feeds and search results

 

[Spicy Chromosomes]

Limited impacts, but it's still useful

 

[RealThrill]

Thumbnails are important. HQ thumbnails can make an average video viral.

 

[seomaster5]

I used to obsess over custom thumbnails, but now Shorts seem to auto-play so fast that nobody really sees them.
I’m curious are you still uploading custom thumbnails, or relying on auto-generated ones?
Have you noticed any real difference in CTR?

Short content does not need to have very good thumbnails. If You are making login videos , then it is worth it for sure.